The Truth of Good and Evil
by katia1
Summary: The crew of the Andromeda try to get a strange alien race to join the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Harper has been reading Nietzsche ? and Trance wants to go exploring. My first fanfic...
1. Chapter One

Rating: PG13  
Theme: Features all Andromeda characters, esp. Trance, Harper, Tyr.  
Summary: The crew of the Andromeda try to get a strange race of creatures to join the commonwealth.   
  
Disclaimer: All the main characters are the property of Tribune Entertainment. Nietszche was a   
nineteenth century philosopher. I am not making any money out of this!   
  
  
The Truth of Good and Evil - Part One  
by Katia  
  
"I test the power of a will according to the amount of resistance it can   
offer and the amount of pain and torture it can endure and know how to   
turn to its own advantage; I do not point to the evil and pain of existence   
with the finger of reproach, but rather entertain the hope that life may   
one day become more evil and more full of suffering than it has ever   
been." - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche   
  
Harper casually skimmed his eyes over the text on the screen in front of   
him and scrolled down to the next page. This file was entertaining. It   
contained the complete works of Neitzsche.  
  
He wondered how many Nietzscheans had actually read this stuff. He   
knew that Tyr had. He had seen him with the books, being stroppy, anti-  
social and superior, as if he was the only one who could read anything.   
Or understand it.  
  
Nevertheless, Harper wondered what was taught to all the little   
Nietzcheans about their glorious namesake. Afterall, Nietzsche had been   
a genetically inferior human, born on earth, and of a rather sickly and   
weak physical disposition. And, as for spreading his own glorious   
genes...well, it seems that his main experience of the opposite sex came   
with his own sister.   
  
However, what really did make Harper laugh, was the writing itself.   
Beneath the surface, it was so fragile, so flimsy, and so very human.   
Nietzsche went on and on about the superiority of the few, the will to   
power and hated the idea that there should be any sort of equality   
between the weak and the powerful, the inferior and the superior. But,   
what exactly, thought Harper, was this old guy raving on about?   
  
Yeah, he got the bit about what is good for one man, is not necessarily   
good for others. He got the bit about evil being good if it combated   
weakness, though he didn't think he agreed with it. However, who were   
these superiors? What was the will to power? Had the great Nietzsche   
himself actually thought this one through?   
  
To Harper, the answer seemed straightforward enough. Those who   
Nietzsche reckoned were so great, his Supermen, were those who liked to   
dominate others. And why, wondered Harper, did they feel the need to   
dominate others? 'Cos they feared them, of course! This Nietzsche guy   
figured that women should be dominated and possessed because they   
could never be the equals of men. That stank of fear, too. Hey, maybe   
Nietzsches sister was a particularly big, scary gal? She must have   
terrified the hell out of him.   
  
So, what was so great about all that?  
  
Harper leaned back in his chair and laughed to himself, a cool, mirthless   
laugh. Just then, Dylan's voice sounded over the intercom.  
  
"Harper, I'm sorry, I know it's your time off, but I need you on the bridge   
right now!"  
  
"OK, boss, I'll be there."   
  
He'd had enough of that philosophical crap anyway. It was rubbish, and   
he preferred technical stuff. You were safe with that. You knew what   
was right and wrong. If it were wrong, it would just explode in your face.   
No doubts there, then.  
  
***  
  
"We're approaching the Llanyi settlement." said Beka. "They used to be   
a member of the commonwealth, right Dylan? They shouldn't present   
too much problem to get back in, then?"  
  
"I shouldn't think so." Dylan sighed. "Actually, they were never a huge   
asset to the commonwealth," said Dylan. "They're known for being   
rather unco-operative, especially in times of war. They never sent aid to   
us in times when it would have been in their interests to do so. They   
never even defended themselves from attack. And, it seems, since I've   
been gone, they've just taken what was coming to them, from the Magog,   
from the Nietzscheans, from whoever set down for a bit of plunder and   
pleasure. Frankly, I'm surprised there is anything left alive down there."  
  
Rommie's hologramatic form appeared. "Well, they're doing something   
right. I can detect a healthy population. The atmosphere of this planet is   
also interesting. The air is breathable to humans, but it also contains   
traces of heltovanradium, a relatively lately discovered and unknown   
element."  
  
"It's not at all harmful?" asked Dylan.  
  
"Well, little is known about it," said Rommie, "but, there is no evidence it   
can do any damage. It is actually rumoured by visitors to the planet to   
have medicinal qualities."  
  
"Dylan, we're receiving an incoming message" said Beka.  
  
The whole crew, who had been busy in the area with various tasks,   
looked up to the screen. The first thing that transfixed them was the pair   
of eyes that appeared. They were such wide, beautiful eyes, a bright   
emerald green, like crystals, almost translucent.   
  
Then the face. It would be hard to tell what colour the skin was naturally,   
but it did not matter. Each feature was petite and exquisite, like the most   
beautiful child out of a fairytale, and painted a dozen, vibrant, dancing   
colours. The expression was almost blank. The lips said nothing.   
  
"This is Captain Dylan Hunt of the Commonwealth Starship Andromeda.   
I wish to speak with you about re-signing the commonwealth articles.   
May I have permission to visit your settlement with my crew?"  
  
The lips spoke. "You are welcome. Do what you will". Then the face   
vanished.  
  
***  
  
Tyr was not amused. If he ever needed a proof that there was no God, or   
Divine, or whatever, than this was it. No all-powerful being would   
produce a race of anything so small, silly, and pointless. Barely any of   
the creatures came up to the shoulders of Trance or Harper in height, let   
alone anything he could make eye contact with.   
  
They were running all round his feet, getting in the way, speaking in high,   
silly voices in a language he could not understand. Ugh! He kicked one   
out of his way, not hard, but with enough force to send the little creature   
flying.  
  
"Hey!" Trance was angry. "Stop that."   
  
***  
  
The creature that had appeared on screen seemed to be part of some sort   
of group of leaders, but there was no single being in charge of this place.   
The crew of the Andromeda were welcomed by a crowd of the little   
Llanyi, all painted bright colours, and at least an hour of chaos followed   
in which they were led all over their settlement. At first they seemed to   
be going somewhere, though they never quite reached it, and then they   
realised they were just being led round and round in circles.   
  
Having heard what Rommie had told them about the attacks, Harper was   
surprised that they Llanyi showed no fear towards Tyr and Rev. They   
were just curious. However, they loved Trance. Something about her   
seemed to entice them, and they showered her with kisses and hugs,   
gathering around her, wanting to touch her tail, or for her to pick them   
each up and cuddle them. It was rather cute. Harper wondered if they   
knew something about her that he did not.   
  
At length, Rev, Beka and Dylan managed to set up some sort of   
negotiation, and were let into one of their little houses, each having to   
bend down low to get through the door. Tyr seemed to vanish.   
  
Harper was wondering what he should do with himself on this place. It   
was getting dark, but he had long since realised this wasn't going to be a   
place for raunchy nightlife and checking out hot babes. Well, having said   
that, there were a lot of babes. In fact, now he came to think of it, they   
were ALL babes. Either that or the boys on this planet looked somewhat   
girly. Either way, the thought crossed his mind that a young, eligible   
bachelor like him could be somewhat in demand....he wondered how   
they reproduced.  
  
Trance was still surrounded by several little Llanyi, although most of   
them seemed to be making their ways back to their little homes for the   
night. One remained sitting on her lap, while a further two sat besides   
her, stroking her tail, which she had entwined around them.  
  
"Hey, Trance, why do you never let me do that, Babe?" said Harper.   
  
Trance giggled. "They're so sweet!"  
  
"So am I!"  
  
Trance giggled again. She gently unwrapped her tail from the tiny hands   
and bodies, put down the Llanyi who sat on her lap, and stood up to face   
Harper.  
  
"It's still light. I want to see more of this place. Rommie said the plants   
are among the most beautiful in the known universe. Shall we go see?"  
  
"You and me? Alone in the wilderness? Just the two of us, beneath the   
stars" Harper grinned, suppressing thoughts of the inevitable. "How   
could I refuse?"  
  
Trance grinned and took his hand, leading him  
  
"Let's go!"  
  
***  
  
  
Tyr had just kept walking. It had not take him long to reach the top of the   
mountain. He was alone in the silence, the dark, just him, the stars, and   
his thoughts.   
  
Why did Dylan want anything to do with those pathetic creatures? They   
could be no use to any advanced, civilised being. They were the   
antithesis of all that he valued. Childlike, feminine, irrational, passive,   
victims. Objects, not beings.   
  
He thought of the words of Nietzsche, what he said about those with no   
will to power, those who were categorised as feminine.  
  
"Thou goest to woman? Do not forget thy whip"  
  
All such beings were good for is to highlight the power and superiority of   
those above them by their passivity.  
  
Tyr looked up at the stars and into the silence. He thought of women he   
knew. He thought of Beka, he thought of Freya. He did not wish to   
dominate them. Or did he?   
  
Yes he did. It was the will to power, to dominate, to assert his   
superiority.   
  
No he didn't. They meant more to him than that. Moreover, they were   
better than these silly Llanyi. They were stronger and better than   
Trance...or Harper. Yet, even those two had their qualities. Harper was,   
technically, as clever as anyone he had ever met; yet he dare not let him   
know that, to admit deference in any way to one so clearly his inferior.   
And Trance? Her very mysteriousness bothered him. What might she be   
able to know, what might she be able to do? Her very mystery held some   
sort of power over him.  
  
He'd felt this before. What he was to believe was not clear.   
Nevertheless, he knew that to surrender unthinkingly to philosophy would   
be weak in itself.  
  
He felt the vastness of the night and the universe all around him. The   
cool evening air caressed him and engulfed him. He felt small.  
  
***  
  
It had still been light when Trance and Harper left the village, but soon   
the light had faded into a bright orangy, pink sunset. Not unlike on earth,   
thought Harper. Perfect for romance...  
  
Despite the early promise, however, romance was not immediately   
forthcoming. Trance was bustling around him in an excited whirl,   
examining each different plant they encountered, collecting samples.  
  
He had to admit these plants were something special. The flowers, rather   
than being of mainly one colour like plants on earth, could contain the   
whole spectrum of the rainbow on one petal. Like the inhabitants of the   
planet, they were small and exquisite. Even the trees, and the tall,   
creeping ivy like plants that twisted around their trunks, were slender and   
elegant, and somehow enticingly feminine.  
  
"Hey, Trance, you still know how far we've come, right?"  
  
"Yup." Replied Trance. "I think so....oh, Harper, look!"  
  
She ran towards a tree that blossomed with thousands or tiny orange   
flowers, each in clumps as big as her face.  
  
"Yeah, nice. But, I'm sure I've seen that one before. You know, it's   
getting kind of cold here. And dark. We better get back, right?"  
  
"I thought you didn't mind being alone with me in the dark?"  
  
"I don't. I mean, er, yeah, I like it."  
  
"Good. We'll go back soon. I promise. I just can't leave now. I wonder   
what keeps these flowers open in the dark. They can't be absorbing the   
light from the nearest star. Maybe they live off that rare element in the   
air, the one that Rommie was talking about. I've got to get enough   
samples to run some tests."  
  
"OK. No rush. I've got all the time in the world, babe." said Harper. He   
settled down at the foot of one of the orange blossom trees and soon fell   
asleep.   
  
***  
  
Dylan Hunt was more than mildly annoyed. These excruciating little   
creatures were not co-operating. They would not see sense. They would   
not sign, they would barely even negotiate. They believed they could do   
nothing for the commonwealth. That was possibly true, but they also   
believed that the commonwealth could do nothing for them.   
  
Yet, these were the sort of beings that needed his protection the most. He   
could see his high principles drawing him to protect them, even as they   
pushed him away. If they were being ravaged by the Magog, he would   
probably have to try to save them anyway.   
  
Yet, they would not show him the respect of signing his articles. One   
thing they said stuck in his mind. It bothered him, though he wasn't quite   
sure why.   
  
"You are bigger and stronger than us. You can kill us or protect us. Do   
as you will. But we will show you no deference."  
  
Dylan tried to put it out of him mind. He had other worries now. Three   
of his crew were missing.   
  
Apparently, Tyr had set off along, brooding, seeking solitude. Trance   
and Harper had gone off together, looking for plants. He was relieved to   
hear the two youngest members of his crew were together. Still he   
worried about them, more that about Tyr being out there alone. Tyr could   
take care of himself. He felt some sort of responsibility for Trance and   
Harper.  
  
***  
  
Harper woke up with a start when somebody placed a hand firmly over   
his mouth. His immediately reaction of shock lessened slightly when he   
saw it was Trance. She put her finger firmly to her lip, indicating the   
need for silence, and then gestured urgently with her other hand for him   
to follow her.   
  
A short way off he could hear voices. Not the sweet, light voices of the   
Llanyi, but deep masculine voices. He followed Trance through the   
bushes on his hands and knees, trying desperately not to make a noise.   
Trance stopped suddenly in front of him, and then turned to his, cupping   
her ear, as if to say "listen".   
  
Harper listened. He could hear well that the voices were only a few   
metres away from him now. Through the twigs in front of him, he could   
make out the boots belonging to the owners of the voices. Moving as   
close as he dared, he could see that these boots belonged to Nietzscheans   
and there was at least four or five of them.  
  
A sharp, sudden fear suddenly swept through him. For Trance. He'd   
been here before. He knew what Niezscheans liked to do, he knew about   
pain, fear, and degradation. He knew about weakness. He did not want   
Trance to know.  
  
As quietly as he could he crawled to her side and touched her shoulder   
gently.   
  
In all, there were five Nietzscheans. Four men and a woman. One of the   
men, some sort of engineer, was fiddling with an advanced looking piece   
of machinery, which appeared to Harper to be some kind of high-tech   
distilling equipment. However, he didn't think these guys would be out   
here to brew Scotch whisky. What were they doing?  
  
Actually, he didn't really care. He just wanted to get Trance out of there   
and to safety. He tugged at her arm. She turned her face towards him,   
questioning. Harper opened his eyes wide as if to say, "Come on, let's   
get the hell out of here." Trance just shook her head.  
  
Damn it! Didn't that girl know the danger they were in? Harper tugged   
at Trance again, desperately, but she was listening to the Nietzscheans   
intently and would not move.  
  
Realising he wasn't going to win here, Harper began to listen too. It soon   
became evident why Trance was so concerned.  
  
***  
  
The Female Nietzschean was angry. "How did we not see this so-called   
commonwealth ship approach. They may cause us problems...but, why,   
having realised the low, degraded nature of life on this planet should they   
object to our action? You say they had a Nietzschean with them? They   
must be in possession of some rationality, then. I did not want to waste   
any time on this project. I cannot see how any civilised being could   
object to the destruction of the worthless life forms on this planet. The   
element extracted from the atmosphere may well cause that, but it will be   
invaluable in the construction of weapons....and power."  
  
"The Llanyi I spoke to said these visitors would protect them whether   
they wanted him to or not. Just like we would kill them whether they   
wanted us to, our not."  
  
"You killed them?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
Harper looked at Trance. He saw her whole body fill with anger. As she   
rose to confront the Nietzcheans he heard his own voice shout "No!",   
thought he did not remember telling himself to say it.  
  
He collapsed for a second, burying his face in the soft earth, letting the   
fear engulf him. Then, he put that aside. Feeling nothing for himself, but   
fear for his companion, he rose to stand by Trance.  
  
End of Part One  



	2. Chapter Two

Rating: PG13   
  
The Truth of Good and Evil by Katia  
  
PART TWO  
  
"How dare you kill them!" shouted Trance. "They were powerless   
against you. You are evil!"  
  
The Nietzscheans turned suddenly, weapons drawn. However, on seeing   
what confronted them, they relaxed and one went over and pulled Trance   
and Harper out of the bushes. One young, human male, and an   
unimpressive one at that. And, some rather purple thing. Both small.   
Both unarmed.  
  
"Yes," replied the female Nietzschean, "and evil is not a bad thing."  
  
Harper and the female Nietzschean eyed each other up and down, while   
Trance boiled over with silent anger or whatever it was that her kind felt   
in these situations.  
  
The Nietzschean woman was well over six feet tall, and her sleeveless   
shirt revealed rippling biceps. Her strong jaw was softened slightly by   
her full, voluptuous lips and piercing brown eyes. Harper felt that she   
could see straight through him...well, straight through his clothes at least.   
Nevertheless, he was glad it was him that she was staring at, not Trance.   
He could not let her hurt Trance.   
  
The fact that she really could hurt Trance, and that there was little he   
could do about it, was the only power that he felt she had over him. He   
had been here before, with men, with women. But he knew he must not   
let the memories beat him now. There was nothing new that they could   
do to him. Apart from finish it all.   
  
Still, he felt numb, apart from what he felt for Trance. A voice screamed   
inside of him. "Just get her out of here! She is your only weakness."  
  
***  
  
"Damn it! None of these godforsaken little objects have seen Trance or   
Harper since they left the village last night. Anything could have   
happened to them." Beka turned to Tyr. "How the hell could you let   
them go off like that?"  
  
"It was not my responsibility to protect them" He replied.  
  
"Yeah? Then whose was it? Dylan, Rev and I were wasting our time in   
there with these mindless...things, you had nothing else to do."  
  
Tyr shrugged. "I had to get out of here. These ephemeral beings," he   
said motioning at a couple of passing Llanyi with a dismissive gesture   
"grate on my nerves."  
  
"Yeah? They have that effect on the rest of us too, OK?" replied Beka,   
aggressively.  
  
"And I brought back valuable information about the intruders I   
observed." said Tyr, in a grave monotone.  
  
"Mmmmm. Yes. Information that could mean that Trance and Harper   
have been captured, tortured, or even killed. Look, I can't stand around   
here waiting for Dylan and Rev to stop talking any longer, knowing those   
two are out there alone with a group of marauding Nietzscheans intent on   
destroying the atmosphere and mass destruction of life. Are you coming   
with me?"  
  
"They're not alone. They're together. They can look after each other."  
  
"Trance and Harper? You kidding?"  
  
Tyr said nothing but followed Beka towards the countryside in the   
direction that the Llanyi said the others had gone. They hadn't gone far   
when Dylan came running after them, calling them back.  
  
"The Llanyi say that Tyr's news about the Nietzscheans, what he saw and   
heard about the heltovanradium, changes nothing. They will not   
negotiate."   
  
"They drive me insane!" said Beka. "They still expect us to protect them,   
right?"  
  
"They never said they did. They still say they are powerless to prevent us   
protecting them or killing them."  
  
"Forget them!" said Beka hastily. "Just forget it. Look, two of my crew   
are lost out there, they need us. I'm not wasting any more time with these   
goddam Llanyi"  
  
"Right." said Dylan, "Let's split up and search properly. I need to speak   
to Rev...and keep in contact with Rommie. She may be able to trace   
something."  
  
***  
  
Three hours later they met back at the village. They'd found nothing.   
There was no trace of Trance, Harper, or the Nietzscheans. Rev   
approached them, looking concerned.  
  
"I've been told on good authority, by one of the Llanyi, that the   
Nietzcheans were seen leaving for their ship a short while back. They   
had Harper with them. But there was no sign of Trance."  
  
Beka looked wildly alarmed. "Oh, God, if they've laid a finger on her..."  
  
"Calm down, she could have escaped and be fine. And at least we know   
that Harper is alright," said Dylan.  
  
"Or WAS alright," said Tyr gravely, "but now, they're no longer   
together."  
  
***  
  
While still on the planet, The Female Nietzschean had observed Harper   
with curiosity and took her time to assess the situation. She had   
established that he and his little friend had arrived on the Commonwealth   
ship, although she had not worked out what exactly they had been doing   
creeping around in the bushes together. Anyway, that was irrelevant.   
What should she do?   
  
Although the Llanyi had probably let on to the new arrivals that she and   
her crew were up to no good, she do not intend to allow these two, who   
must have worked out her exact intentions, go free. She was going to go   
back to her ship and wait until the good Captain Hunt, who she had been   
told about, got tired of hitting his head against a brick wall trying to get to   
the Llanyi to negotiate, and gave up. Then, she could carry on,   
undisturbed.  
  
However, while she came to this conclusion The Male Nietzscheans who   
accompanied her, and tended the machinery, grew impatient.   
  
"Look," said one, "we are following your instructions because we   
believed you had a profitable plan. But, now I...no, we...tire of you. I   
have several wives and children to get back to. We must dispose of the   
prisoners and get on with this, or abandon the whole procedure."  
  
The Female turned on him swiftly.   
  
"No. We must wait. We cannot risk going ahead while Hunt and his   
crew are on the planet."  
  
"Fair enough," said another of The Males, "But, what should we do with   
them?" Here he indicated at Trance and Harper, who were both   
uncharacteristically quiet, due to the fact they had been told that if one   
made a noise the other would be instantly killed.   
  
The Female paused to think again. Of course, she did wonder if her two   
little captives might be missed. Surely, they could not be valuable?   
However, then again, even she could think of some uses for them...and   
they boy had a cerebral-port in the side of his neck. Maybe he was even   
of some practical use. This was a worry, but the Commonwealth captain   
and his crew believed they were dead, surely they would not be worth   
exacting revenge over? To risk valuable equipment over something so   
pointless would be very weak.   
  
At length she came to a decision. She motioned to three of her men.   
"You, take the girl out into the wilderness. Do with her what you will."  
  
"No!!!!!!!" Harper violently wrenched himself away from the fourth   
Nietzschean who had been restraining him. He threw himself towards the   
others as they reached for Trance, and kicked and pounded them with all the   
ferocity of a hatred that is yielded only by those who have seen the violation, and destruction, of beings they love. The self becomes no longer   
important.  
  
Of course, it was futile. Harper was casually brushed away and the   
Nietzscheans seemed somewhat amused by his predictable little outburst.   
Trance said nothing. She just looked straight into Harper's eyes and he   
stared straight back. They were both strangely calm. Words between   
them were not necessary. It had all been said, although nothing had been   
said at all.  
  
  
***  
  
Harper had fought all the way back to the ship, but not the Nietzscheans.   
He just let them take him. He fought his feelings. He loved Trance.   
Now she was dead, and it had probably been a horrible death. But then,   
he'd loved his parents and his cousins. He'd had to watch them die   
horribly. At least Trance had been given the one small dignity that he hadn't had to watch. His memory of her was not tainted.  
  
Who was there left to live for? He thought of the others on the   
Andromeda. They were not like Trance. They could take care of   
themselves. They'd live without him. Then, for some strange reason, he   
thought about Nietzsche, and what he'd read. Now he was angry. "Stop   
thinking, stop feeling!" he shouted in his head. A strange sense of   
numbness swept through him again. Trance was gone, there was nothing   
more which could be taken from him. He did not care what happened to   
him. The numbness was replaced by something even stranger. An odd   
feeling surged right from his soul, fighting any feeling of grief or love.   
He had no weaknesses, no fear. He was utterly defeated yet he felt   
suddenly empowered.  
  
They were now inside the ship. It was smaller than the Andromeda and   
Harper figured it would not be too easy to disable if he could escape the   
grip of his captors and investigate a little. He was strangely relieved to be   
back on a ship, with its technology and hard, angular appearance. It was   
an environment he could control, at least potentially, unlike the beautiful, untamed wildness of the planet. He was placed in a chair and his hands and feet   
tied. Harper let out a cool, mirthless laugh.  
  
"What's this? Scare you, do I? Well, I'm not surprised, y' know." He   
looked over to The Female then at the one of The Males, who had   
remained on the bridge with them while the others saw to tasks around   
the ship. "You wouldn't want me to get my hands on your little woman   
here, would you? I get these uncontrollable urges, sometimes. And,   
there's no stopping me when I get going."   
  
The Female seemed mildly irritated. She hoped to have some fun with   
the human later, but for now, they had work to do. "Silence!"   
  
"Oooh, touchy. Sorry! I forget how jumpy you girlies can get." Harper   
paused. He was somewhat surprised nobody had hit him yet. He knew it   
must be coming. But nobody moved.  
  
"So who is really in charge here then?" he asked. I mean, it can't be   
Madame Muscles here. I mean, what was it old Nietzchey-boy said, oh   
yeah, "Man shall be trained for war and woman for the recreation of the   
warrior. All else is folly." Harper spoke the words in a mocking voice.   
"He really knew what he was talking about, huh?"  
  
The Female slammed her fist down causing the equipment she was   
working with to splinter and crack. Harper casually observed that it was   
fortunate that it had not been his head. Well, kind of fortunate.  
  
"Do you think we're so shallow and stupid to have not understood the   
true essence and meaning of Nietzsche? By woman, he did not mean all   
females. He means the weak, the inferior."  
  
"You are NOT a woman then?"  
  
"In that sense, no."  
  
"OK, doll."  
  
At this, The Female did hit him. Hard enough to stun him a little, but not   
that hard. She was holding off. Something deep inside Harper knew   
why, although the being that seemed to be thinking in there did not   
appear to be a part of him.   
  
"Kill him," said The Male. His voice sounded detached and vague.  
  
The Female turned on The Male. "This is MY mission. Do not presume   
to tell me what to do with him. Don't you see, that's what he wants."   
  
The Male narrowed his eyes. "You feel what HE has said has undermined   
your authority so much that you care whether he wants it or not? Maybe   
he is right. Remember that I am here for profit alone. There is no other   
reason I would listen to any instruction from a woman. Now you are   
being irrational, so you must listen to me. He is worthless to us. Kill   
him."  
  
"How can anything he says undermine MY authority. I just do not   
believe we need to kill him yet. He may be useful. For bargaining." said   
The Female, her eyes wide with aggression, anger and something else, a   
vague indefinable feeling that she was desperately trying to repress.  
  
"If you will not kill him, I will." The Male stopped what he was doing,   
took out a knife, and started towards Harper.  
  
END OF PART TWO  
  
  



	3. Chapter Three

Rating: PG13  
  
The Truth of Good and Evil by Katia  
  
FINAL PART  
  
Harper resisted the temptation to shrink back in his chair. He was going   
to fight this the only way he could, although he knew it would make his   
death all the more painful.  
  
"Great. Just Great! Now I have to die to show how much SHE scares   
you shitless, pansy-man...I mean, you're way worse than her! She   
probably had a good plan, y'know. But, you just can't stand being   
ordered about by such a babe, can you. Oh no, a woman with authority.   
That scares the hell out of you, don't it, big guy?"  
  
"Will you show no respect, boy? Maybe I won't kill you yet...maybe I'll   
just cut out your tongue..." He grabbed Harper by the hair, forcing his   
head back, taking the knife in his other hand.  
  
"No...I said Not Yet!" The Female grabbed the male by the wrist, and   
wrestled him to the floor. He was slightly larger than she was, but she   
had been better trained in combat.  
  
Harper let out a long shuddering sigh. How much longer could he keep   
this up? Still, the voice inside him kept on saying "Mustn't fear, mustn't   
fear."  
  
"You're both pathetic!" he squeaked. Then he stopped and took a deep   
breath. He must sound more dignified. "You need me!" hissed Harper.   
He was angry now. "You need me, both of you, to show how powerful   
you are. Not just me, you needed Trance, the Llanyi, and every other   
being you've laid waste to. You needed us all. Without us, you're   
nothing. Power works both ways, you see... "   
  
The Male laughed and shook himself out of The Females grip. He had   
heard what Harper had said, but was pretending he hadn't. He addressed   
the female, laughing in her face. "OK, then, if that's the sort of mate you   
want, then take him. I'm sure he'd oblige...just make sure your children   
are drowned at birth. The offspring of a runt and a hysterical woman..."  
  
"Yeah," said Harper, "They'd have to die, wouldn't they...'cos you'd   
fear them. In case they grew up great and strong...and you couldn't push   
them around, like you have to push around everyone you fear." Harper   
could hardly believe he was saying this. It was like something was   
speaking through him. "Like, if you silence me now... if you kill me...   
you'll show your fear for me...even if you simply fear that...I don't fear   
you. I give you your power...without me...you are nothing."  
  
The Male stared at the Female, who was now in possession of the knife.   
"Just kill him. NOW! Or I shall do it with my bare hands."  
  
"No!" The female smashed her fist down again, this time on the back of   
the chair where Harper was tied, causing him to jolt forward. The male   
forced her out of the way, and hit Harper across the back of the head   
Hard.  
  
"...you gain nothing from my death...you...just...prove...I am right....in   
front of her...to you both....I AM A GOD!!"  
  
Harper slipped out of consciousness wondering whether they were quite   
the right words in the circumstances. The Female stared at him and was   
still staring moments later when they began to receive an incoming   
message.  
  
***  
  
After the formalities of introduction were over with, Dylan got straight to   
the point: "You have abducted a member of my crew. I demand that you   
hand him back over."  
  
The Male, who Dylan had been addressing, replied. "That will not be   
possible."  
  
"Are you telling me my crew member is dead?"  
  
"No," stated the female, pushing herself in front of the male. "I am the   
captain of this vessel and it is me you should address. He is still alive."  
  
"Then I demand that you hand him back over, or I will have to take   
action. This is a High Guard Ship of the Line. I think you know you are   
outgunned and outnumbered...."  
  
Suddenly the link went down. The Female had snapped it off. "I need to   
think about this rationally."  
  
"Kill him, you foolish woman! We do not have to hand him over. Why   
should we take orders from that captain? He is a relic from the past.   
Who does he think he is? The Commonwealth has no authority over   
us...it is history"   
  
"We cannot outgun that ship. At the very least, we will damage the   
equipment we need to distil the mineral." The Female spoke clinically   
and clearly. " It is not worth the risk. You know that this is logical."  
  
Her eyes fell on Harper. She didn't want to hand him back over. And   
she didn't want to kill him either. Damn it. He was right. She felt   
attracted to him because she needed to dominate people. But, he DIDN'T   
fear her. That made her feel something inside...disappointment, no, what   
was it? Damn it.   
  
Nietzcheans were not supposed to have these feelings. Sex and desire   
was for procreation and recreation, not about needing to feel empowered.   
If you desired empowerment, you were weak, and you felt fear. Yet that   
was exactly what she did desire, and that is what her crew around her   
desired. Thousands like them had the same needs. It did not matter if   
they were male or female. The lust for power was born of fear.  
  
However, something deep inside of her knew she did not only feel about   
this inferior human in that way. He certainly had guts to say what he had   
said. Maybe that was why she did not want him dead...maybe she   
admired him.  
  
In a scream of rage and confusion, she snapped back on the link.   
  
"Take him. He is worthless. He is nothing to me."  
  
With a violent smash, the screen went blank again.  
  
***  
  
Harper was fairly surprised to find that the afterlife looked somewhat like   
the med. deck on the Andromeda. The first thought he had when he came   
to, was that it must be heaven, as there was his beautiful Trance. He   
wondered if he'd been good enough to see him parents, his cousins   
maybe...however, as he became more aware of himself he began to doubt   
that this was heaven. For a start, he had a dull ache in his head, and he   
felt kind of sick. "Ok," he thought "I figure I must be still alive. But if I   
am, how can that be..."  
  
"Trance!" He shouted, sitting up with a jolt.   
  
Trance jumped. "Oh, Harper, lie down will you...you're fine. It's just   
concussion."  
  
"But, you....you're...you..."  
  
"I got away," said Trance. " They never laid a finger on me. Now, will   
you shhhhhh."  
  
Harper lay back down. Too much was going on in his head but he didn't   
want to think or feel about anything right now. Nothing at all.  
  
***  
  
The Andromeda had fired a few superficial shots on the Nietzschean ship.   
Rommie said she thought it would be enough to irreparably damage their   
sensitive distilling equipment and at least set them back in their plans a   
good few months.   
  
However, now Dylan had a dilemma. The Llanyi had not signed the   
articles, nor said they ever would. Yet, he felt he should not leave such a   
vulnerable race at the mercy of the plunderers and destroyers who would   
inevitable return to them. If it was not the ones they had encountered,   
there were plenty of others.  
  
Tyr joined him on the deck. "You know, what is right for one man, is not   
necessarily right for another."  
  
"Nietzsche?" said Dylan. Try nodded.   
  
"What he says, we must interpret, we must think about," said Try. "His   
ideas were constructive...on survival, on discipline, on the assertion of   
self. Some...maybe I have to question. Nietzche was just a human. He   
tried to deny his fear."  
  
"Like the Llanyi?" said Dylan, with half a smile.  
  
"No. I'm not sure he was like the Llanyi," said Tyr. "Maybe, on   
reflection, we could all learn a little from them." Tyr could scarcely   
believe he said that. "They had no fear, Dylan. That is why they did not   
sign."  
  
"But they knew they were in danger. They had no means of resistance."  
  
"Yes they did, their resistance was their lack of fear. Those who came to   
dominate them, did so because they knew fear themselves. They had to   
tyrannise to feel power, to feel alive. By showing no fear...the Llanyi   
were resisting in the only and best way they knew. And they were still   
there. They were alive and flourishing. They had survived. Somehow."  
  
"Yeah, somehow." said Dylan. "But, still, that does not help them if the   
atmosphere on their planet is destroyed."  
  
"They will survive, Dylan." Said Tyr, and for some strange reason, Dylan   
found he believed that he was right.  
  
Just then, Beka joined them.  
  
"Is Harper alright?"  
  
"He seems fine, actually, and Trance is fine too. Harper didn't seem to   
want me about, though."  
  
Dylan raised his eyebrows. "I guess they can look after themselves."   
  
***  
  
"Trance?" Harper sat up on the bed. He looked at her, straight in the   
eye, like he had when they had taken her from him.  
  
"How did you get away? C'mon, pleeeease! Just for once, I want to   
know the truth."  
  
A smile flickered in the corner of Trances mouth and her tail twitched   
slightly as Dylan's voice came over the intercom.  
  
"Trance, I need you on the bridge now, urgently!"  
  
"Sorry, Harper, I've got to go."   
  
Harper watched her skip off. He realised he didn't really care what the   
answer was. She was here, and she was alive. And, she was good, he was   
happy to believe that. On this, he did not care if he was right or wrong.   
  
Finis.  
  
"It never occurred to Nietzsche that the lust for power, with which he   
endows his superman, is itself an outcome of fear. Those who do not fear   
their neighbours see no necessity to tyrannize over them." - Bertrand   
Russell, himself the holder of some debatable opinions, on Nietzche.   
  
Authors Note: Thank you for reading. This is my first fanfic ever. I really enjoyed   
writing it...and I want to do it better next time. Comments would be welcome,   
especially constructive criticism. My email is katia3173@yahoo.co.uk. I've already   
figured I want to ditch some of the thinky stuff next time and concentrate on pace and   
action. What do you reckon?   
  
  
  



End file.
